RELIGION TODAY

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Domestic Missionaries Search for Converts Online
Amy Green


July 13, 2009

ORLANDO, Fla. (RNS) -- For centuries, missionaries have ventured to the farthest reaches of the globe to share the gospel. Today, the new mission field is just a mouse click away.

Some 2 million surfers a day type keywords like "God" and "Jesus" into search engines, and hundreds of thousands of them end up at one of 91 Web sites operated by Global Media Outreach, a ministry of the Orlando-based Campus Crusade for Christ that dispatches domestic missionaries to the far corners of the World Wide Web.

The sites describe the basics of Christianity, such as who is Jesus, and provide forms where surfers can submit questions and share personal stories with one of the ministry's 3,000 missionaries. The missionaries, in turn, respond via e-mail with personal messages, Bible passages and prayers.

It is the newest way to reach out, said the Rev. Allan Beeber, the Orlando director of Global Media Outreach, which also has offices in Silicon Valley.

"The paradigm of evangelism is changing. In the past, various Christian groups would go door-to-door, or they would hold citywide crusades," he said. "The paradigm change is that people are now coming to us."

The number of these spiritual surfers has grown so much since the ministry launched less than a decade ago that officials now hope to double the number of missionaries by the year's end. In the last year alone, traffic on the ministry's Web sites more than doubled.

Campus Crusade is among the nation's largest nondenominational campus ministries, with some 55,000 students involved at more than 1,090 colleges and universities nationwide. Worldwide, the organization offers 29 ministries in 191 countries.

Global Media Outreach has partnered with Northland, a local megachurch whose pastor is the up-and-coming Joel Hunter, to add missionaries and a church-planting effort to the ministry. Now, when surfers e-mail about how to start a church, Northland can respond with church-planting resources.

The partnership is a fit for Northland, which subscribes to the philosophy that a church is defined by its people and can be as small as three people gathered around a dinner table, said the Rev. Dan Lacich, a pastor at Northland. Some 10,000 people worship each Sundays at one of Northland's multiple locations, including 1,000 online.

"It's another tool," Lacich said. "What we're hoping happens is that missionaries who are in field ... will get encouragement and support from this ministry as we're able to connect them with people who are near them."

Technology is now at a point where Christian leader can track how many people worldwide are exposed to Christianity, and how many want to become Christians, Beeber said. It also is the first time missionaries can reach into dangerous countries, and other hard-to-reach populations, such as teenagers here at home, without ever leaving their desks. What's more, online outreach can be specialized to target a variety of groups, from members of the military to hurricane victims.

One group of pastors handles especially difficult theological questions. Most missionaries respond within 24 hours, Beeber said.

Evangelicals are not the only ones turning to point-and-click proselytizing. Mormon missionaries spend 12 hours fielding questions online as part of their training before being dispatched around the world. Missionaries who can't go overseas for health reasons can instead put in a two-year stint at the Mormons' online referral center in Provo, Utah.

"Absolutely it's the new frontier," said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. "In advanced economies, the majority of people are online, and ... they begin to think of the Internet as the default starting place for all kinds of information searches.

"So it's not surprising that when people have spiritual questions or have concerns about the direction of their lives, a lot of them now sort of start their search for answers online."

Maria Rodriguez, a Campus Crusade accountant who heard about the project around the office, said sharing the gospel is now akin to "going on a mission trip without stepping out of the house."

Rodriguez helps oversee the ministry's Spanish speakers and enjoys developing online relationships with those who write in, including a woman from Peru who is moving to Canada but worries about leaving her mother, who is in poor health, behind.

"We go back and forth, praying for each other, praying for her mother and her decision," said Rodriguez, 48. "Mostly people want to be heard. They want to tell their stories. ... The family of God is so huge that we can reach others from such a distance."

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Religion Today Summaries - July 13, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Obama and Pope Meet, Discuss Bioethics
    * Report: One-Third of Scientists Believe in God
    * Quake Rocks Southwestern China, Kills One
    * Best-Selling 'Love Dare' Hits 3 Million in Print

Obama and Pope Meet, Discuss Bioethics

Catholic News Service reports that President Barack Obama's first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI happened behind closed doors, but clearly involved the president's stance on life issues. The pontiff gave Obama a copy of his latest encyclical on social justice issues, as well as a copy of "Dignitas Personae" ("The Dignity of a Person"). The latter Vatican document presents the church's stance on biomedical issues such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research, both of which are at variance with Obama's positions. "I will have some reading to do on the plane," Obama joked after the pope gave him the documents.  Obama said that the meetings were "very productive" and marked "great progress" and "something concrete," although the precise topic they were discussing at that point was unclear, the Catholic News Service reports.

Report: One-Third of Scientists Believe in God

Religion News Service reports that only a third of scientists say they believe in God, according to a new survey. Eighteen percent believe in a high power and four in 10 scientists believe in neither. The report by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science show scientists vary sharply with findings for the general public. Scientists were evenly split -- at 48 percent each -- between those who claimed a religious affiliation and those who did not. Meanwhile, 83 percent of Americans say they believe in God and 82 percent said they are affiliated with a religious tradition.

Quake Rocks Southwestern China, Kills One

CNN reports that only a year after a major quake struck Sichuan province, China faced another, more moderate quake in the country's Yunnan province. The Thursday evening quake killed at least one person, injured 325 more, and destroyed more than 18,000 homes. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a 5.7 magnitude, well below the 7.9 quake that hit May 12, 2008. Still, officials said more than 400,000 people had to be evacuated or relocated from the region. China's Xinhua news service reported that emergency supplies are already being distributed by relief authorities.

Best-Selling 'Love Dare' Hits 3 Million in Print

In week 40 on the New York Times bestseller list, "The Love Dare," introduced in the movie Fireproof, the top-grossing independent film of 2008, has 3 million books in print. Written by Stephen and Alex Kendrick, co-writers of Fireproof (and producer and director, respectively), the book began as a plot device. "The Love Dare" entered the market with the Sept. 26, 2008, premiere of Fireproof, starring Kirk Cameron. By the end of opening weekend, Fireproof was fourth in the nation and "The Love Dare"--a book that the father in the movie asks his son to read--was near the top of Amazon charts.

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Pope Meets Obama with Abortion as Topic No. 1
Francis X. Rocca


July 14, 2009

VATICAN CITY (RNS) -- President Obama met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time on Friday (July 10) in a closed-door meeting that a Vatican statement said covered multiple topics but focused on the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion.

The pope also gave Obama copies of his recent encyclical on the global economy and a statement of Catholic teaching on bioethics, which Benedict's personal secretary said would help Obama "better understand" why church positions are at odds with the president's.

Obama's visit to the Vatican came at the end of the G-8 summit in L'Aquila, 70 miles northeast of Rome, which Obama told the pope had been "very productive."

Benedict greeted Obama outside his private library shortly before 4:30 pm, and escorted the president inside for a 30-minute private conversation. Although Benedict speaks fluent English, the leaders were joined by two interpreters seated on either side of the pope's desk.

A Vatican statement released shortly after the meeting made it clear that while the two men discussed a number of issues, abortion was at the top of the pope's agenda.

"In the course of their cordial exchanges, the conversation turned first of all to questions which are in the interests of all ... such as the defense and promotion of life and the right to abide by one's conscience," the Vatican statement said.

The mention of "conscience" was an apparent reference to so-called conscience clauses, which exempt health care providers from participating in services -- namely abortion, sterilization and contraception -- to which they have moral objections. Obama has moved to scrap the protections, which were approved as former President George W. Bush was leaving office.

Even so, Obama "told the pope of his commitment to reduce the number of abortions and of his attention and respect for the positions of the Catholic Church," Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters after the meeting.

In many ways, Obama's early relations with the Catholic Church, both in Rome and in the United States, have been marked by tension over his policies on medical ethics. In May, some 80 U.S. bishops criticized the University of Notre Dame for granting Obama an honorary degree despite his support for abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research, which church teaching forbids.

The Vatican's approach to Obama, however, has been friendlier, as reflected by coverage in its official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, which at times has been openly enthusiastic since Obama's election last November.

"The Vatican wants good relations with the Obama administration," said Massimo Franco, a Rome-based expert on U.S.-Vatican relations, and author of the book "Parallel Empires."

Although disappointed that he does not share his predecessor's stands on abortion and stem cell research, Franco said, Vatican diplomats welcome many of Obama's international policies, such as his overtures to the Muslim world.

The Vatican and Washington "are beginning a new phase of an alliance based on pragmatism," Franco said, that is "realistic, not ideological."

Among other topics in Friday's discussion, the Vatican statement highlighted immigration, "with particular attention to the matter of reuniting families," and the Middle East peace process, "on which there was general agreement." Both the Vatican and the White House support the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Vatican statement said the two leaders also discussed the importance of intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, the "global economic crisis," "food security," "development aid especially for Africa and Latin America," "drug trafficking," and the "importance of educating young people everywhere in the value of tolerance."

Before his audience with the pope, Obama met for about 10 minutes with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Following his discussion with Benedict, the president introduced first lady Michelle Obama to the pope, and the two leaders exchanged gifts.

The president gave Benedict a ceremonial stole that had once lain over the body of St. John Neumann, a 19th-century bishop of Philadelphia.

Benedict presented Obama with the customary papal present to heads of state, a gold medal commemorating his pontificate, as well as a mosaic of St. Peter's Square.

The pope also had a couple of pieces of reading material for the president.

One was a white leather-bound copy of Benedict's third encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate," published three days before their meeting, which many Obama supporters have said shows an affinity between the two leaders' vision for the world.

The papal document, which calls for "redistribution" of wealth and enhanced international cooperation for peace and environmental protection, shows a "convergence of interests between the Holy Father's social justice agenda and the announced agenda of the president," said Nicholas P. Cafardi, who served on Obama's Catholic advisory committee during last year's presidential campaign.

Benedict also gave Obama a Vatican document published last December that condemns high-tech infertility treatments and contraception technologies, and reaffirms the church's strong prohibition of abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

Monsignor Georg Ganswein, Benedict's personal secretary, told reporters that the bioethics document "could help the president better understand the position of the Catholic Church."

Obama thanked Benedict for the document and told him he would read it on Air Force One. Shortly after leaving the Vatican, the Obamas flew to Ghana, where they were to be the guests of honor at a state dinner.

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India: Witnesses in Orissa Trials Receive Death Threats
Compass Direct News


July 15, 2009

NEW DELHI (Compass Direct News) -- Nearly 11 months after an unprecedented wave of anti-Christian attacks shook the eastern state of Orissa, a reign of terror continues in the area as the former rioters issue death threats to witnesses.

Of the more than 750 cases filed in various police stations in Kandhamal district and neighboring Gajapati district, only one has resulted in conviction. Some trials are underway amid reports of armed extremists threatening to kill witnesses.

The Rev. Dibya Paricha of the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Catholic Archdiocese said several witnesses are shrinking away to save their lives. On Thursday (July 9), a witness in Salapsahi village, in the Kasinpadar area under the Phiringia police station, refused to testify in a murder case.

"During the trial, the complainant, the younger brother of the victim, said he did not know anything about the case," Paricha, coordinator of the Christian Legal Association's (CLA) legal cell in Kandhamal, told Compass. "The previous day, he had said that he would tell the truth so that the culprits would be punished ... From a reliable source we came to know that he was threatened with death."

On June 30, three men carrying pistols -- Sanjeeb Pradhan, Bikram Pradhan and Pratap Pradhan -- threatened witnesses in the Gondaguda area of the Chenchedi Gram Panchayat administrative area, under the jurisdiction of the Sarangarh police station in Kandhamal, Paricha said.

The three men have been issuing death threats to witnesses through the area villages, he said.

"I know them [the three gunmen] personally," Paricha said. "They were living hand-to-mouth until recently, and now they are riding a motor vehicle and threatening the survivors."

Information on the threats has been provided to the sub-collector (an administrative officer in charge of a sub-district), the sub-divisional police officer and the district collector (administrative head), he said, and a First Information Report has been registered at the Sarangarh police station.

Another witness and complainant in a riot-related case, 55-year-old Batia Digal, was threatened on June 17, said Paricha. Gobida Chandra Pradhan from Piserama village and Shricharnan Mohan Pradhan from Dodaingia village in Raikia area tried to pressure Digal to withdraw the case, in which a local legislator from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Manoj Pradhan, is one of the accused.

The Raikia police station is investigating the case.

On July 4, Christians saw a ray of hope when a fast-track court in Phulbani, Kandhamal district convicted a tribal leader of arson -- the first conviction in a 2008 violence case. The court sentenced a 58-year-old Chakradhar Mallick to two years of prison and a fine of 1,000 rupees (US$20). Mallick had burned the house of a Christian, Loknath Digal, and threatened to kill him in August 2008.

But the granting of bail to one of the prime suspects in numerous anti-Christian riot cases -- local BJP legislator Pradhan of the G. Udayagiri assembly constituency -- on July 6 dampened the spirits of the Christians. Bail was granted for 15 days so that Pradhan could take oath as a member of the new assembly, reported Indo-Asian News Service. Pradhan was arrested in October 2008 on various charges including murder, rioting and arson.

The spate of violence that erupted in Kandhamal in August-September 2008 killed more than 100 people and resulted in the incineration of 4,640 houses, 252 churches and 13 educational institutions. The violence began following the assassination of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu council or VHP) leader, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, by a Maoist (extreme Marxist) group. Hindu nationalist groups blamed Christians for the assassination.

Although more than 100 people were killed in the attacks, only 26 murder cases have been registered under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. According to CLA statistics, 13 cases were registered in the Raikia police station alone. Five complaints were filed in Tikabali, two each in G. Udayagiri, Sarangada, and Balliguda, and one each in Gocchapada and Phiringia.

At least nine cases were registered for attempted murder: four in Balliguda, two in G. Udayagiri, and one each in Tumudibandha, Phulbani, and Sarangada. Two rape cases were registered, one each in the Phulbani and Balliguda.

Over 550 cases have been filed for arson and looting: 323 in G. Udayagiri alone, 59 in Tikabali, 32 in Raikia, 31 in Gocchapada, 26 in Phulbani, 23 each in Phiringia and Balliguda, 18 in Daringbadi, 10 in Sarangada, four each in Tumudibandha and Kotagarh, and three in Khajuripada.

Around 680 people were arrested in the numerous cases, but some have managed to get bail from courts, according to The Deccan Herald newspaper.

The CLA and a non-profit group, the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), are providing free legal services to the victims and their relatives in Kandhamal. In neighboring Gajapati district, which also faced numerous anti-Christian attacks in August-September 2008 as fallout of Saraswati's murder, the All India Christian Council (AICC), in partnership with the HRLN, is providing free legal aid to victims of the violence.

"At least 337 families lost homes or businesses [in Gajapati district]," Dr. Sam Paul, AICC spokesman, told Compass. " most rehabilitation as well as public attention has focused on Kandhamal district."

Commenting on the need for legal help in Gajapati, Paul added, "On one single day [in June], the lawyers counselled and drafted petitions for 30 persons."

The AICC and HRLN are also helping the victims in Gajapati to receive compensation and recover lost identity cards and other documents.

Silence of Inquiry Panel

At the same time, a judicial commission headed by Justice S.C. Mohapatra to probe the August-September 2008 violence submitted a 28-page interim report to the state government on July 1 without blaming any group or organization for the violence.

"Sources of the violence were deeply rooted in land disputes, conversion and re-conversion and fake certificate issues ... Suspicion among the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste inhabitants of Kandhamal is the main cause of riots, with the tribals suspecting that Pana Dalits were capturing their land through fraudulent means," Mohapatra said, according to The Hindu.

Those belonging to the Kui tribe in Kandhamal are mostly Hindu. Christians make up an estimated 16 percent of the 650,000 people in the district, with more than 60 percent of them belonging to the Pana community and classified as "Scheduled Castes," better known as Dalits (formerly "untouchables").

The Pana community has been demanding recognition as a tribal community, as Dalits lose their right to government's affirmative action after they convert to Christianity. The Kui people, however, oppose the demand, as it would increase the number of candidates eligible for government-reserved jobs. Sections of the Kui people believe that Pana Dalits make fake certificates to get the land that can belong only to tribal people.

"I know it will take at least two years to complete inquiry, but the interim report will help the government to make immediate intervention," added Mohapatra.

Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Catholic Archdiocese told private channel Zee News, "Justice Mohapatra had given remarks on other matters without touching the subject for which the commission was set up, to investigate culpability in the series of attacks on Christians." Cheenath said that conversion was "not at all" a factor behind the Kandhamal violence.

The National Commission for Minorities in October 2008 had accused the then-ruling state government, a coalition of a regional party, the Biju Janata Dal (NJD) and the BJP, of not controlling the violence. It said that despite knowing that public reaction to the murder of a prominent religious leader like Laxmanananda would be extreme, there was little evidence of action by political and administrative higher-ups in Bhubaneswar, reported The Indian Express daily on Oct. 30, 2008.

In March 2009, the BJD broke its 11-year-old alliance with the BJP, saying it did not want to partner with a "communal" party. The BJD fought and won the April-May state assembly election alone. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held the BJP and groups linked with it, such as the Hindu extremist VHP and its youth wing Bajrang Dal, responsible for the violence, according to private news channel CNN-IBN.

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Episcopal Church Lifts Ban on Gay, Lesbian Bishops
Daniel Burke


July 16, 2009

ANAHEIM, Calif. (RNS) --The Episcopal Church on Tuesday (July 14) overwhelmingly voted to lift a three-year-old moratorium on consecrating gay and lesbian bishops, despite warnings that the ban was necessary to preserve unity in the wider Anglican Communion.

A large majority of Episcopal bishops, priests and lay delegates gathered here for the church's triennial General Convention asserted that "God has called and may call" gays and lesbians in lifelong committed relationships "to any ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church."

More than 70 percent of lay and clergy delegates in the church's House of Deputies approved lifting the moratorium on Tuesday; the church's House of Bishops had approved it Monday by a 2-to-1 margin.

While the resolution clears the way for gay and lesbian bishops, it does not mandate that dioceses must consider them, nor does it guarantee that, if elected, they will receive the necessary ratification votes to serve.

"This is a day to rejoice for the Church--no, let me be more specific, this is a day to rejoice in the Episcopal Church, which once again has stood for the full inclusion of all," openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire wrote on his blog late Monday.

Robinson also wrote that bishops who voted to lift the ban "will pay a price for opening their hearts, much as gay and lesbian people in this Church have paid a price for their exclusion. I applaud them for their courage and will stand with them in the consequences of their vote."

Also on Tuesday, Episcopal bishops debated a resolution that would begin the development of liturgical rites to bless same-sex unions, and enable bishops in states where gay marriage is legal to change marriage rites in the Book of Common Prayer to be gender neutral.

The resolution, if passed by the bishops, would also need the approval of lay and clergy delegates before it could become church law.

Robinson's consecration in 2003 caused a furor in the 77 million-member Anglican Communion, which counts the 2.1 million-member Episcopal Church as its U.S. branch. Many Anglicans, particularly in the rapidly growing Global South, say homosexuality is sinful and unbiblical.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of Anglicans worldwide, warned last summer at a meeting of more than 600 bishops from around the world that the communion would be in "grave peril" should the moratorium on gay bishops be lifted.

Addressing the General Convention as it opened last week, Williams said, "Along with many in the communion, I hope and pray that there won't be decisions in the coming days that will push us further apart."

Since Robinson's election in 2003, every key intra-Anglican body--from leading archbishops to international councils--has warned the Episcopal Church not to consecrate or elect any more gay bishops.

Already, several archbishops, particularly those in the Global South, have severed ties with the Episcopal Church over its gay-friendly policies. In the U.S., four conservative dioceses and dozens of parishes have seceded from the denomination and formed the rival Anglican Church in North America.

The Anglican Communion Institute, a conservative think tank, said that "The Episcopal Church is already out of communion with the majority of the world's Anglicans," and predicted that more dioceses would leave the church.

Bishop Henry Parsley of Alabama, who voted against lifting the moratorium, said, "I long for us to be an inclusive church, but not a polarized church," according to Episcopal Life, the denomination's official news outlet. "We need to be part of the larger Anglican Communion in what we do in this matter."

Urging fellow delegates to reject the resolution, Zack Brown, a lay youth delegate, said, "Please don't vote in a way that makes more conservatives feel the way I do now: like I'm the only one left."

The resolution on gay bishops also encourages Episcopalians to "participate to the fullest extent possible" in the Anglican Communion, and reminds the global church that the Episcopal Church contributed more than $660,000--almost one-third of the budget--to funding the communion's bureaucracy in 2007.

While some Episcopalians argue that their church never enacted an official moratorium on gay bishops, it voted at its last meeting, in 2006, to urge dioceses to "exercise restraint" by not electing bishops "whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion."

No gay bishops have been elected since that resolution was passed at the urging of the church's then-newly elected Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, though several dioceses have considered gay and lesbian candidates. Jefferts Schori voted on Monday to lift the moratorium.

The Rev. Susan Russell, president of the pro-gay Episcopal group Integrity USA, said the resolution "was another step in the Episcopal Church's `coming out' process--and it sends a strong `come and see' message to anyone looking for a faith community where God's inclusive love is not just proclaimed but practiced."

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Christianity Banned in Lao Village, Officials Announce
Sarah Page


July 17, 2009

DUBLIN (Compass Direct News) -- Following the confiscation of livestock from Christian families earlier this month, officials in a village in Laos on Saturday (July 11) called a special meeting for all residents and announced that they had "banned the Christian faith in our village."

The chief of Katin village, along with village security, social and religious affairs officials, warned all 53 Christian residents that they should revert to worshiping local spirits in accordance with Lao tradition or risk losing all village rights and privileges -- including their livestock and homes, according to advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF).

The Katin village leader also declared that spirit worship was the only acceptable form of worship in the community, HRWLRF reported. Katin village is in Ta Oih district, Saravan Province.

The previous Sunday (July 5), officials and residents confiscated one pig each from nine Christian families and slaughtered the animals in an effort to force them to renounce their faith. Officials said the seizure of the pigs -- each worth the equivalent of six weeks' salary for an average laborer in the area -- was punishment for ignoring the order to abandon Christianity. (See "Officials Seize, Slaughter Christians' Livestock").

According to HRWLRF, the chief's order clearly contravened Article 6 and Article 30 of the Lao Constitution, which guarantees the right of Christians and other religious minorities to practice the religion of their choice without discrimination or penalty.

In addition, HRWLRF stated that Katin officials had violated Article 53 of the 2003 Law on Local Administration, which requires them to abide by the constitution and other laws and to provide for the safety and well-being of all people living under their care.

Officials in Katin have a history of ignoring constitutional religious freedoms. On July 21, 2008, officials detained 80 Christians in the village after residents seized a Christian identified only as Pew and poured rice wine down his throat, killing him by asphyxiation.

When family members buried Pew and placed a wooden cross on his grave, officials accused them of "practicing the rituals of the enemy of the state" and seized a buffalo and pig from them as a fine.

On July 25, 2008, officials rounded up 17 of the 20 Christian families then living in the village -- a total of 80 men, women and children -- and detained them in a school compound, denying them food in an effort to force the adults to sign documents renouncing their faith. The other three Christian families in the village at that time had already signed the documents under duress.

As their children grew weaker, 10 families signed the documents and were permitted to return home. The remaining seven families were evicted from the village and settled in an open field nearby, surviving on whatever food sources they could find in the jungle.

Suffering from the loss of their property and livelihoods, however, the seven families eventually recanted their faith and moved back into the village. But over time, some of the Christians began gathering again for prayer and worship.

On Sept. 8, 2008, provincial and district authorities called a meeting in Katin village and asked local officials and residents to respect the religious laws of the nation.

Four days later, however, village officials seized a buffalo worth approximately US$350 from a Christian resident identified only as Bounchu, telling him the animal would be returned only if he renounced his faith. When he refused, they slaughtered the animal in the village square and distributed the meat to non-Christian residents.

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Religion Today Summaries - July 14, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Iraq Raises Church Security amid Bombings
    * Seven Christians Beheaded in Somalia
    * Knowledge of Bible 'In Decline' in Great Britain's Youth
    * Lao Officials Seize, Slaughter Christians' Livestock

Iraq Raises Church Security amid Bombings

CNN reports that seven Christian churches were bombed in two days in Baghdad and Mosul, killing four and injuring 35 more. The last attack, near a church in Mosul on Monday morning, injured three children. Iraqi officials have stepped up security around churches throughout Iraq, and Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi has "strongly condemned" the attacks. The bombings underscore the tenuous security situation in the country, which has also seen similar bombings against Shiites. Christians in Mosul, which used to be a thriving community of Armenian Christians, have continued to leave the city due to violence.

Seven Christians Beheaded in Somalia

Christian News Wire reports that seven Somali Christians were beheaded by suspected hard-line insurgents from the Al-Shabaab group. Although al-Shabaab has carried out similar severe punishments in regions under its control, these executions allegedly are the largest number done at the same time. Somalia is believed to have a 99.95% Islamic following. There are only a handful Somali Christians inside the country and they have been forced underground. Some Christians have taken refuge in neighboring countries. Somalia is ranked No. 5 on the most recent Open Doors World Watch List which ranks the top persecutors of Christians. The previous year Somalia was ranked No. 12.

Knowledge of Bible 'In Decline' in Great Britain's Youth

It's not that young people in Great Britain don't like the Bible, BBC reports. It's just "old-fashioned." A survey of 900 people by The National Biblical Literacy Survey showed that over half were unfamiliar with famous parables such as the Prodigal Son. Younger interviewees told researchers that the Bible was "old-fashioned", "irrelevant" and "for Dot Cottons" - in reference to the churchgoing character in the BBC One soap. Still, many respondents said they turn to the Bible at for guidance at "key moments." Rev. Brian Brown, a Methodist minister and visiting fellow in media and communication at St John's College, Durham University said the church "cannot make the assumptions we used to make about the Bible and its place in contemporary people's lives and culture."

Lao Officials Seize, Slaughter Christians' Livestock

Compass Direct News reports that on July 5 officials and residents of a village in Laos confiscated and slaughtered livestock belonging to nine Christian families, apparently in an effort to force them to renounce their faith. In June, elders of Katin village in Ta Oih district, Saravan province warned the 53 new converts to renounce their faith. When the Christians ignored this warning and attended worship services in a neighboring village, villagers broke into their pig pens and seized one pig per family, later slaughtering the animals and distributing the meat among themselves. Officials said the seizure of the pigs -- each worth the equivalent of six weeks' salary for an average laborer in the area -- was a form of punishment for ignoring the order to abandon Christianity.

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Religion Today Summaries - July 15, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Episcopal Church to Affirm Gay Clergy
    * Iran Interrupts Christian Satellite Channel
    * Eight Arrested in Xinjiang House Church Raid
    * Vatican-Backed Newspaper Applauds 'Harry Potter'

Episcopal Church to Affirm Gay Clergy

USA Today reports that leaders at the Episcopal General Convention approved a measure Monday that laid the foundation for the ordination of gays and lesbians in the church. The bishops voted 2-to-1 that "God has called and may call" to ministry gays in committed lifelong relationships. This pushes the Episcopal Church even farther away from the larger Anglican Communion, which encouraged the American branch to continue its moratorium on gay ordination. The Episcopal gay advocacy group Integrity, said in a statement Monday night that the declaration "effectively ends" the temporary prohibition on gays in ministry. Currently, Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who was elected in 2003, is the only openly gay bishop in the church.

Iran Interrupts Christian Satellite Channel

The Christian Post reports that the Iranian government's censorship of Internet and cell phone services has disrupted a Christian TV satellite channel as well. Terry Ascott, CEO of SAT-7 International, said the government has managed to shut down strategic channels and mediums without jamming satellites that would affect the entire Middle East. "Somehow they have developed a new technology to simply and simultaneously block access to multiple channels in the major cities -- which is the first time we have seen such a thing," Ascott said on Friday. Demonstrations against the June 12 election results have continued despite police intervention and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's certification of the results, which gave the victory to current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a landslide.

Eight Arrested in Xinjiang House Church Raid

ASSIST News Service reports that a house church in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was raided July 3. Eight Christians were arrested by Chinese officials. Two of the eight believers from Beitun House Church have been released so far. Four believers are still being held in a detention center in an undisclosed location, and two Chinese American missionaries are missing. ChinaAid says that due to the riots that erupted on July 5, in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, ChinaAid has had difficulty contacting believers, as the government cut off Internet and phone connections within the region. ChinaAid urges Christians to pray that the "love of Jesus Christ will bring peace and reconciliation between the Han Chinese and Uygurs."

Vatican-Backed Newspaper Applauds 'Harry Potter'

The Christian Post reports that the latest Harry Potter has some surprising fans at the Vatican's L'Osservatore publication. "It is more likely that at the end of the viewing or reading, rather than the allure of magic ... what remains are the scenes that evoke values such as friendship, altruism, loyalty, and the gift of self," wrote L'Osservatore on Monday. The semi-official newspaper criticized the last film in the series for its "wrong and malicious" portrayal of a hero as well as its endorsement of witchcraft. By contrast, L'Osservatore noted the clear difference between sympathetic good and deadly evil in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 16, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * More Children At Risk in Eritrea's Drought
    * Iraq Authorities Boost Security after Church Bombs
    * Church of England to Debate Communion with ACNA
    * Islamists Get Minority Rights Leader Jailed in Pakistan

More Children at Risk in Eritrea's Drought

Catholic News Service reports that Catholic aid officials are concerned about the increasing numbers of malnourished, feeble children in Eritrea. Widespread famine and severe drought in Eritrea left some 85,000 children malnourished, according to Amensty International. Orphanages are overwhelmed by the numbers of needy children. "Unless you've been there and seen it, you cannot understand the gravity of the situation," said Gabriel Delmonaco, U.S. national secretary for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. "The children were too weak to talk, too weak to walk . . . they could not even swat the flies flying around them."

Iraq Authorities Boost Security after Church Bombs

Reuters reports that Iraqi officials imposed a curfew in Mosul on Monday, hoping to avoid violence against Christian neighborhoods in the city. The move follows a series of deadly bombings against seven churches in Mosul and Baghdad on Sunday and Monday morning. "We had warned the authorities that we would be targeted, that our churches would be struck again, but we got no response," said Chaldean Bishop Shleimon Warduni in Baghdad. "They left our churches without protection." A Christian human rights leader in Baghdad voiced concern that Christians are attacked as the "weakest link in the chain of Iraqi society." The bombings killed four people and injured more than 30 others.

Church of England to Debate Communion with ACNA

Christian Today reports that the Church of England has delayed a vote on a resolution welcoming the new Anglican Church in North America into communion. The motion, presented by a lay member at the York General Synod, was tabled on Friday, but has gained renewed importance after The Episcopal Church in America voted Tuesday to end a moratorium on gay bishops. The Anglican Church in North America officially split from the more liberal Episcopal Church last year. The Rev Paul Perkin, a member of General Synod and chair of the steering committee of the orthodox Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, said the motion needs to be considered by the Synod at the earliest opportunity, namely in the February sessions in 2010".

Islamists Get Minority Rights Leader Jailed in Pakistan

Compass Direct News reports that Pakistani minority rights activist Joseph Francis and two other officials from the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and settlement (CLAAS) were imprisoned for forged documents. Christians believe the arrest was connected with a false charge of assaulting a woman he had counseled regarding her conversion to Islam, at the behest of her Christian parents. One of Francis' lawyers told Compass that the court did not listen to arguments for releasing Francis as it was biased toward the Islamists who have urged the woman to charge the CLAAS officials with assault.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 17, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Atheists Sue to Stop `In God We Trust' Engraving
    * Refugees Return to Swat Valley; Aid Still Needed
    * American Child Sex Slaves Being Arrested, Not Rescued
    * Muslims Order Halt to Church Building in Indonesia

Atheists Sue to Stop `In God We Trust' Engraving

Religion News Service reports that the nation's largest group of atheists and agnostics filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday (July 14) to exclude "In God We Trust" and "one nation under God" from the new Capitol Visitor Center. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based church-state watchdog group, claimed the engravings are unconstitutional. Further, they say, the phrases would exclude the 15 percent of Americans who identify themselves as non-religious. The House and Senate passed resolutions this month approving the inscription of the mottos in prominent areas of Capitol Visitor Center, which serves as the entrance and security screening for tourists. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said historical references to God should not be censored for political correctness.

Refugees Return to Swat Valley; Aid Still Needed

Christian Today reports that Pakistani refugees from the Swat Valley began the slow trickle home Monday, but few believe the area is truly safe. At least 1.7 million people were displaced by the fighting between Pakistan's military and the Taliban. Government-provided buses have only taken a few hundred people back, by some reports, leaving aid agencies wondering how to logistically manage those still in refugee camps and private residences. Even with aid relief difficult to access, many displaced people are wary of returning. "The army promised us twice before that they cleared the area, but then Taliban came again and again to Swat," shopkeeper Shamsher Ali, 55, told Agence France-Presse. "Perhaps this time the Taliban will come again to Swat."

American Child Sex Slaves Being Arrested, Not Rescued

Christian News Wire reports that many young victims of sex trafficking in America are "misidentified and labeled as prostitutes," a new study by Shared Hope International shows. "The horror is that our children are victimized twice -- first by the prostitution and then by the broken system that treats them like criminals while the buyers are given a slap on the wrist, if anything at all. What kind of message is this sending?" asked Founder and President of Shared Hope International, Linda Smith. The average child sex trafficking victim will be raped 6,000 times over the course of five years. Shared Hope International will release its full report at the Congressional Human Trafficking Briefing on Capitol Hill on July 21.

Muslims Order Halt to Church Building in Indonesia

Compass Direct News reports that several Muslim organizations joined on June 27 to demonstrate against the construction of a Huria Kristen Batak Protestant (HKBP) church building. The church, located in Plaju, outside of Palembang, capital of South Sumatra Province, had verbal permission from Gov. Alex Noerdin to proceed. The South Sumatra Muslim Forum, however, demanded the group secure permission from the local Interfaith Harmony Forum and complete their permit process. The demonstrators destroyed a bridge leading to the church before demanding that the government ban the building project. They group also carried a copy of a mayoral decree dated May 2009 ordering the construction to halt.

[nChrist]

Christianity Banned in Lao Village, Officials Announce
Sarah Page


July 17, 2009

DUBLIN (Compass Direct News) -- Following the confiscation of livestock from Christian families earlier this month, officials in a village in Laos on Saturday (July 11) called a special meeting for all residents and announced that they had "banned the Christian faith in our village."

The chief of Katin village, along with village security, social and religious affairs officials, warned all 53 Christian residents that they should revert to worshiping local spirits in accordance with Lao tradition or risk losing all village rights and privileges -- including their livestock and homes, according to advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF).

The Katin village leader also declared that spirit worship was the only acceptable form of worship in the community, HRWLRF reported. Katin village is in Ta Oih district, Saravan Province.

The previous Sunday (July 5), officials and residents confiscated one pig each from nine Christian families and slaughtered the animals in an effort to force them to renounce their faith. Officials said the seizure of the pigs -- each worth the equivalent of six weeks' salary for an average laborer in the area -- was punishment for ignoring the order to abandon Christianity. (See "Officials Seize, Slaughter Christians' Livestock").

According to HRWLRF, the chief's order clearly contravened Article 6 and Article 30 of the Lao Constitution, which guarantees the right of Christians and other religious minorities to practice the religion of their choice without discrimination or penalty.

In addition, HRWLRF stated that Katin officials had violated Article 53 of the 2003 Law on Local Administration, which requires them to abide by the constitution and other laws and to provide for the safety and well-being of all people living under their care.

Officials in Katin have a history of ignoring constitutional religious freedoms. On July 21, 2008, officials detained 80 Christians in the village after residents seized a Christian identified only as Pew and poured rice wine down his throat, killing him by asphyxiation.

When family members buried Pew and placed a wooden cross on his grave, officials accused them of "practicing the rituals of the enemy of the state" and seized a buffalo and pig from them as a fine.

On July 25, 2008, officials rounded up 17 of the 20 Christian families then living in the village -- a total of 80 men, women and children -- and detained them in a school compound, denying them food in an effort to force the adults to sign documents renouncing their faith. The other three Christian families in the village at that time had already signed the documents under duress.

As their children grew weaker, 10 families signed the documents and were permitted to return home. The remaining seven families were evicted from the village and settled in an open field nearby, surviving on whatever food sources they could find in the jungle.

Suffering from the loss of their property and livelihoods, however, the seven families eventually recanted their faith and moved back into the village. But over time, some of the Christians began gathering again for prayer and worship.

On Sept. 8, 2008, provincial and district authorities called a meeting in Katin village and asked local officials and residents to respect the religious laws of the nation.

Four days later, however, village officials seized a buffalo worth approximately US$350 from a Christian resident identified only as Bounchu, telling him the animal would be returned only if he renounced his faith. When he refused, they slaughtered the animal in the village square and distributed the meat to non-Christian residents.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 17, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Atheists Sue to Stop `In God We Trust' Engraving
    * Refugees Return to Swat Valley; Aid Still Needed
    * American Child Sex Slaves Being Arrested, Not Rescued
    * Muslims Order Halt to Church Building in Indonesia

Atheists Sue to Stop `In God We Trust' Engraving

Religion News Service reports that the nation's largest group of atheists and agnostics filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday (July 14) to exclude "In God We Trust" and "one nation under God" from the new Capitol Visitor Center. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based church-state watchdog group, claimed the engravings are unconstitutional. Further, they say, the phrases would exclude the 15 percent of Americans who identify themselves as non-religious. The House and Senate passed resolutions this month approving the inscription of the mottos in prominent areas of Capitol Visitor Center, which serves as the entrance and security screening for tourists. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said historical references to God should not be censored for political correctness.

Refugees Return to Swat Valley; Aid Still Needed

Christian Today reports that Pakistani refugees from the Swat Valley began the slow trickle home Monday, but few believe the area is truly safe. At least 1.7 million people were displaced by the fighting between Pakistan's military and the Taliban. Government-provided buses have only taken a few hundred people back, by some reports, leaving aid agencies wondering how to logistically manage those still in refugee camps and private residences. Even with aid relief difficult to access, many displaced people are wary of returning. "The army promised us twice before that they cleared the area, but then Taliban came again and again to Swat," shopkeeper Shamsher Ali, 55, told Agence France-Presse. "Perhaps this time the Taliban will come again to Swat."

American Child Sex Slaves Being Arrested, Not Rescued

Christian News Wire reports that many young victims of sex trafficking in America are "misidentified and labeled as prostitutes," a new study by Shared Hope International shows. "The horror is that our children are victimized twice -- first by the prostitution and then by the broken system that treats them like criminals while the buyers are given a slap on the wrist, if anything at all. What kind of message is this sending?" asked Founder and President of Shared Hope International, Linda Smith. The average child sex trafficking victim will be raped 6,000 times over the course of five years. Shared Hope International will release its full report at the Congressional Human Trafficking Briefing on Capitol Hill on July 21.

Muslims Order Halt to Church Building in Indonesia

Compass Direct News reports that several Muslim organizations joined on June 27 to demonstrate against the construction of a Huria Kristen Batak Protestant (HKBP) church building. The church, located in Plaju, outside of Palembang, capital of South Sumatra Province, had verbal permission from Gov. Alex Noerdin to proceed. The South Sumatra Muslim Forum, however, demanded the group secure permission from the local Interfaith Harmony Forum and complete their permit process. The demonstrators destroyed a bridge leading to the church before demanding that the government ban the building project. They group also carried a copy of a mayoral decree dated May 2009 ordering the construction to halt.

[nChrist]

Convert from Islam Shot Dead in Somalia
Simba Tian


July 21, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya (Compass Direct News) -- Muslim extremists early yesterday morning killed a Christian convert in Mahadday Weyne, Somalia, 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Mogadishu.

Al Shabaab Islamist rebels shot Mohammed Sheikh Abdiraman to death at 7 a.m., eyewitnesses told Compass. They said the Islamic extremists appeared to have been hunting the convert from Islam, and when they found him they did not hesitate to shoot him.

The sources told Compass that Abdiraman was the leader of an underground "cell group" of Christians in Somalia.

"We are very sad about this incident, and we also are not safe," one eyewitness said by telephone. "Pray for us."

The sources were too distraught to share more details about Abdiraman's death. Another eyewitness who requested anonymity said Abdiraman had been a Christian for 15 years. He is survived by two children, ages 15 and 10. His wife died three years ago due to illness.

Intent on "cleansing" Somalia of all Christians, al Shabaab militia are monitoring converts from Islam especially where Christian workers had provided medical aid, such as Johar, Jamame, Kismayo and Beledweyne, sources said. Mahadday Weyne, 22 kilometers (14 miles) north of Johar, is the site of a former Christian-run hospital.

Linked with Islamic extremist al Qaeda terrorists, al Shabaab rebels have mounted an armed effort to topple President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's Western-backed Transitional Federal Government with the intention of imposing sharia (Islamic law). The group is already enforcing sharia in large parts of southern Somalia that they control.

The militants reportedly beheaded seven Christians on July 10, and refugees from Somalia tell of other attacks. One refugee last year recounted an attack in Lower Juba, Somalia. Binti Ali Bilal, the 40-year-old mother of 10 children, was fetching firewood with her 23-year-old daughter, Asha Ibrahim Abdalla in April 2008 in an area called Yontoy when al Shabaab members and Muslim neighbors approached them. Yontoy is 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Kismayo.

For some time the local community had suspected that she and her family were Christians, Bilal told Compass. The group asked the women if they were Christians, and when they said they were, the group began beating her and her daughter, who was six months pregnant, Bilal said.

After raping them and holding them captive for five days, the Muslim extremists left them for dead, she said, and her husband found them. The baby born to her daughter, she told Compass, suffers from diseases related to the prenatal trauma.

Reuters reported on July 10 that al Shabaab militants beheaded seven people in Baidoa that day for being Christians and "spies."

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 21, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Appeals Court Rules on Bible Distribution in Schools
    * Episcopal Parishes Again Contemplate Leaving
    * Church Provides Help for Communities, Tearfund Says
    * Somali Insurgents Loot U.N. Compounds

Appeals Court Rules on Bible Distribution in Schools

Religion News Service reports that a federal appeals court found a Missouri school district unconstitutionally permitted distribution of Bibles to elementary schoolchildren in their classrooms. The decision has upheld a lower court ruling. The court also ruled that the South Iron R-1 School District in Iron County, Mo., can enact a new policy permitting "any printed material" approved by the superintendent to be distributed outside classroom time." The policy itself applies to all persons or groups wishing to distribute literature to students, not just to Bible distribution by the Gideons," wrote Chief Judge James B. Loken in the unanimous decision by the three-member panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. Groups on both sides of the case said they were pleased with the ruling.

Episcopal Parishes Again Contemplate Leaving

The Washington Post reports that conservative Episcopals find it harder and harder to remain in the U.S. church given the continued push toward gay ordination and same-sex blessings. Church of Our Redeemer in Loudoun, Va., has stuck with the Episcopal Church until now. "It's not something you consider lightly, leaving," said church member Michael Hollinger, 37. "But at the same time, the decisions they're making in the larger church are getting harder and harder to accept." The small church's pastor, the Rev. John Thomas Sheehan, expressed similar sentiments. Sheehan says he tries hard to keep politics out of the pulpit, but finds the line increasingly blurry. "Is this political or theological? Should I speak up?" he often asks himself. There is no easy answer.

Church Provides Help for Communities, Tearfund Says

Christian Today reports that one Christian aid agency is highlighting the church's role in providing for Britain's poorer populations. "The local church is the poor -- its members share in the suffering," the Tearfund report states. "As the hub of many communities, it endures even when other community structures collapse, outstaying even the most dogged NGO." The report was released two weeks after the British government promised to partner with charities and faith groups in community efforts. "It's very encouraging to see the UK Government take a huge step forward in recognizing the role of churches in meeting local needs and in engaging with local communities to facilitate discussion and come up with local solutions," said Matthew Frost, Chief Executive of Tearfund.

Somali Insurgents Loot U.N. Compounds

Reuters reports that al-Shabaab insurgents continue to purge Somalia of outside influence, targeting individual Christians and some international groups. Al-Shabaab gunmen raided two United National compounds on Monday, saying they will shut down three U.N. agencies in the country. "In Baidoa, the looting of all emergency communication equipment and the lack of security officers makes it impossible for the United Nations as a whole to continue its operations," the U.N. said in a statement. At least eight Christians have been killed in the last week in Somalia, seven of them in Baidoa where the U.N. compounds are located. According to Reuters, al-Shabaab said foreign groups operating in Somalia should contact the administration in their area and they would be informed of the conditions and restrictions on their work.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 22, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Slaying of Congolese Aid Worker Prompts Condemnation
    * Yemen: Six Abducted Christians Still Missing
    * Christian Retail Convention Sees Drop in Attendance
    * Congregation Holds First Service Since Church Arson

Slaying of Congolese Aid Worker Prompts Condemnation

The Christian Post reports that Caritas Internationalis is working with Congolese authorities to investigate the murder of one of their workers in Congo. "Ricky Sukaka bravely worked in a war zone to help others rebuild their lives," said Lesley-Anne Knight, secretary general of Caritas Internationalis, in a statement Tuesday. "The brutality and killing in Congo has got to stop. Caritas calls on all the groups involved to sit down at the negotiating table and work for a lasting peace." Sukaka, a Congolese national, worked with Caritas to provide emergency aid to 400,000 people caught in the country's continuing civil war. Colleagues found the 27-year-old shot dead last Wednesday morning in Musezero, North Kivu.

Yemen: Six Abducted Christians Still Missing

ASSIST News Service reports that there is still no word about the whereabouts of six foreign Christians abducted six weeks ago in Yemen. A German development worker, his wife, their three children and the British engineer were kidnapped in mid-June during an outing near Saada in North Yemen. They were with two German bible school students and a South Korean teacher. The three were found murdered on June 12. The Netherlands-based humanitarian agency the group worked under, Worldwide Services, has withdrawn all staff members from the country. In the last 15 years at least 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Yemen. In most cases, they were set free after ransom payments, but no such demands have been made in the case. Officials believe the kidnappers were motivated by religious reasons.

Christian Retail Convention Sees Drop in Attendance

Religion News Service reports that attendance dropped by one-fifth at this year's international CBA convention of Christian retailers. The overall Christian retail sales plunged by more than 10 percent, the organization reported. The event, which ended July 15, follows a slumping years for Christian retail stores, which saw net sales drop 10.75 percent from the previous year. In light of the economy and its effects over the past 10 months, we approached this show with conservative expectations," said CBA President and CEO Bill Anderson, who said most trade shows have seen drops in attendance. "While we knew attendance would be down some, I'm satisfied with a strong turnout and the enthusiasm and positive tone throughout the event by both retailers and suppliers."

Congregation Holds First Service Since Church Arson

WATE News in Knoxville reports that one historic church celebrated a memorable first Sunday. The Harris Chapel Baptist Church in South Knox County met for the first time after arson burned the church last Wednesday morning. "This is our heritage," said Julian Harris, whose ancestor founded the church 131 years ago. "It's home." Pastor Jerry Harris said the church is thankful "even in the midst of our sorrows, even in the midst of tragedy." He says the tragedy has worked in the church's life for good. "Now, I am out here in the open. I can holler and praise God and scream," said Pastor Harris. "In a way, it's forced us to come out of the church building come out into the community."